Breadcrumbs and Bathtubs
by Shelly
Summary: Four years after being trapped in Pete's World, Rose has given up hope that she'll ever see the Doctor again. Have all of her efforts been for naught? Ten/Rose
1. Chapter 1

**Breadcrumbs and Bathtubs**

**Summary: **Four years after being trapped in Pete's World, Rose has given up hope that she'll ever see the Doctor again. Have all of her efforts been for naught?

**Spoilers** Through the end of series three to be safe - and though this is a post-"Doomsday" reunion fic, I'm not acknowledging any of the series four spoilers that are lurking about the net. Also, if you squint, there are some spoilers for series two of _Torchwood_. Events described in part four come from the Fifth Doctor serial, "Enlightenment" written by Barbara Clegg.

**Disclaimer** Oh, my. They're not mine. I'm not even British! The BBC owns it all - especially my soul.

**A/****N:** Leave it to me to join a fic-a-thon and volunteer to write for a fandom I've never written for before, as well as one that's new to me, to boot. This was written for Zinke who wanted a Ten/Rose fic with a claw-footed, antique tub and a rubber duck named Darth Nader.

Special thanks and a tin of chocky biscuits to Bex for helping me out with the Britishisms among other things. (Which, come to think of it, is only fair since she's the one that pimped _Doctor Who_ on me in the first place!) And another tin to eman for being both a fantabulous beta and an even better friend. If this fic is any good, it's because they've made it that way. That said, any mistakes are all mine.

_One_

Rose quietly let herself into the mansion she had called home for four years. She spent those years hoping, searching, and waiting - and it had gotten her nowhere. She'd finally found the Eternals and had pleaded her case for their help only to have it denied. They wouldn't help her bridge the Void. She'd put on a brave face then, and had maintained it throughout the day, trying to function around the hot ball of sorrow that had taken up residence in her chest, not wanting to let on to her co-workers or mates how devastated she was.

Now, as she closed the front door behind her with a soft 'snick,' it all came crashing in, and she slid down the door, landing in a crumpled heap on the cold tile of the foyer. Tears blurred her vision and she stuffed a hand in her mouth to stifle the sobs, the truth of it all finally registering though her denial.

She would never, ever see him again. Ever.

"Rose? Is that you?"

Frantically wiping away her tears, Rose clambered to her feet and shook off her sorrow, pulling herself together for her mum. "Yeah," she replied, taking a shaky step toward the sitting room. "I'm home."

Jackie looked up from her magazine and instantly dropped it, rising to her feet and crossing the room in what amounted to a heartbeat. Before Rose could stop her, she'd been wrapped in a hug, her mother shushing and tutting while rubbing soothing circles in her back, "I'm sorry, love."

Not able to hold herself together any longer, Rose choked out, "They wouldn't help me."

Jackie released her and led her to the couch, sitting down only when Rose had folded herself into the plush cushions. "Tell me about it," she said.

Rose sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "I followed all the clues. I know I did the right thing. Everything pointed me to them. They know about the Void and they know how to cross it. They've been doing it forever." Anger welled up inside of her, and she took a deep breath to compose herself before continuing. "They admitted that they could do it, they could bridge the Void and take me across."

"What happened?" Jackie whispered.

"I explained how I wound up over here, and that I wanted to know if there was a way to get back. There is." Rose wiped absently at a stray tear. "But they won't tell us how."

"Well, why not?" Jackie asked, indignant. "What makes them so special?"

"Mum." Rose held up a hand. "It's not like that. You have to understand that they don't exist in the same reality that we do. From what I could understand, they exist in all of time and space. It's not just the technology that they'd be giving away; it would be their security - their way of life." When she realised that she had gone from berating to defending the Eternals in the space of a breath, she had to smile. "And I completely understand. I may not like it, but I understand."

Jackie's face softened and she reached out to run her hand down Rose's cheek. "You're so grown up," she mused. "All that mucking about with him did you good."

"Thanks," Rose replied, leaning her cheek into her mother's hand. "I'm just sorry that I wasted so much time for nothing at all."

"It wasn't for nothing," Jackie argued. "You've made a name for yourself over at that infernal Torchwood now; you've proven yourself. You're much more than Pete Tyler's daughter to them, and that's nothing to sneeze at." She patted Rose on the knee and added, "You've grown into a smart, resourceful, young woman, and I'm proud of you."

Rose smiled and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Stop it, Mum. I thought I was done crying and here I go again."

Jackie rose to her feet and took Rose by the hand. "You look all wrung out. Why don't you pamper yourself; take a long hot bath. Use my tub and loads of bubble bath."

She had to admit that the thought of a long, hot, bubble bath did sound heavenly, and she loved her mother's claw-footed, antique tub. "I think I may do that," she agreed. "I'll light some candles and just relax for a little while."

"Good girl," Jackie said, as she herded Rose out of the room and toward the staircase. "Shout down when you're done and we'll have a nice cuppa tea and some HobNobs."

It was a cast iron, classic slipper tub with brass furnishings and it was Rose's favourite thing in the whole house. She had undressed in her room, before throwing on a dressing gown and grabbing her lavender bubble bath from her own bathroom, and was now lighting several candles around the large master bathroom.

The only thing detracting from the ambiance was a small basket of Danny's bath toys which sat on a shelf alongside the tub. Rose picked up a stray sailboat from the bottom of the tub and added it to the collection before turning on the tap and adjusting the water temperature.

A bubble bath was just what she needed to help her to relax, she reasoned, after the madness of the last few years. Ever since she'd sussed out the meaning of her scattered memories, and realised that she'd peppered this dimension with 'Bad Wolf' clues, too, she'd been running on all engines, barely taking time out to eat or sleep.

She poured two capfuls of the bath gel under the running water and watched, mesmerised, as the bubbles took form and began to spread out across the surface. With a sigh of resignation, she slipped the gown from her shoulders and turned off the lights, allowing the candlelight to infuse the room with a warm glow.

Gingerly, she stepped into the tub and sucked in a breath as her skin adjusted to the almost too-hot water. As she lowered herself into the water, she reached for a small towel from the shelf and positioned it behind her head, settling in for a long soak.

Closing her eyes, she willed herself to think of anything but him. It was hard, though, as the whole of her existence had been consumed with nothing but him for so long, spanning two universes. She was turning a page, though. The failed negotiations with the Eternals had left her at loose ends and she realised that she was going to have to really, honestly, move on.

Perhaps that was what she had been trying to tell herself, with all those clues scattered everywhere. Was it possible, when she had been possessed by the Time Vortex and had seen it all, that she had seen she would need something to focus on in the years following her . . . imprisonment? No, that was too harsh . . . exile in this dimension in order to keep her from going mad?

The blindness had been lifted, and the memories were as clear as crystal now. No longer was she dependent on what the Doctor had told her had happened during those few minutes when she had burned - she _knew_. She had told him that she could see everything - all that is - all that was - all that ever could be, and he had responded that he saw that all the time - and didn't it drive her mad?

The irony was that, no, it hadn't driven her mad. Her theory that she'd been able to see this potential timeline, and had left herself a trail of breadcrumbs, had given her hope when she'd been ready to give up.

Bubbles were tickling her chin, and she opened her eyes to see that the water level was quite high, so she sat up, turned off the tap, and settled back, letting the calming scent of lavender work its magic. Her thoughts began to drift away from the Doctor and onto what she would do now - now that her crusade had ended. There was still Torchwood. Her mum was right; she had proven herself to them and could easily stay on there and be happy. Going back to school had crossed her mind but she dismissed that thought as quickly as it had come. A standard education wasn't going to cut it after all the real-life lessons she had experienced.

She was mentally listing all the departments at Torchwood that interested her when she thought she heard the unique sound of the TARDIS materialising. With a sigh, she settled lower in the water, letting the suds lick at her earlobes, and wondered, idly, when she'd stop hearing that sound in the most mundane of things. As she thought this, she heard the door open and felt a cool breeze as the heat escaped from the bathroom, giving her a chill. Without opening her eyes, she said, "I'm fine, Mum. Fabulous, really. I'll be down in a bit for that tea, yeah?"

A voice that definitely did not belong to her mother responded, "Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin, just the thing for healing the synapses."

At first, Rose didn't say a word; she couldn't. The vision of him, standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the light filtering in from her mum's room and surrounded by an ethereal glow, was just too much to take in.

The first thought to cross her mind was, 'Oh, my God,' which was followed closely by, 'it's too hot in here, I'm hallucinating,' and then, 'I'm naked.'

She scooted up, blinked, and rubbed her eyes. He was still there, standing smugly with his hands shoved into his trouser pockets.

He took a step forward, then stopped and pointed at her. "You've got a little . . ." he paused, and she only stared, dumbly. He smiled in return and completed the distance across the room to the edge of the tub, kneeling before her. Hesitantly, he reached out and gingerly brushed her forehead.

Oh, God, she could feel his touch. If this was a hallucination, it was a damn good one, and she wondered if she hadn't finally gone round the bend. He held out his hand, showing her the bubbles he'd swept from her forehead and, with a wide grin, he blew them at her.

"You're here?" she asked, her voice anything but steady. She raised a soapy hand from the water and held it in front of his face; afraid to actually complete the motion for fear that she would pass through him. She'd already dealt with enough disappointment today and didn't think she could take much more.

"Yup." His eyes were locked on hers, daring her to make the next move, and, against her will, her hand moved forward until she touched his cheek. Involuntarily, she jerked back, bumping the shelf behind her and spilling the basket of bath toys into the water with a splash. Sheepishly, she looked from the floating toys to the Doctor, who was now sporting a dollop of suds on his nose.

"You're really here," she said. "How?"

He deftly swiped the bubbles from his nose and eyed her. "The real question, Rose Tyler," he reached for one of the toys, "is when did you start bathing with rubber ducks?" He squeaked the duck a couple of times and added, "A duck with a Darth Vader helmet, no less?"

"Duck Fadar," Rose automatically replied. "He's Danny's."

With another squeak, the Doctor smiled his approval. "And he glows in the dark. That's brilliant!"

Rose's head was spinning. There were a million things she wanted to ask him, and she was longing to give him a proper hug but, "Um, Doctor?"

He had found a sailboat and was happily conducting a miniature naval battle between it and the duck. "Hmm?"

"I'd love to greet you properly," she said, and she made a point of saying the word as flirtatiously as she knew how. It worked. The battle forgotten, his eyes were solely on her. "But I seem to be wearing nothing but suds."

The heat of his gaze had nothing on the water. "You wear them well," he replied with a theatrical waggle of his eyebrows.

'Some things never change,' she thought. "Doctor, focus," she waved her hand in front of his face, drawing his attention from where it seemed to be on her chest, back to her face. Thankful for sturdy bubbles, she said, "I'd like to properly talk to you, and that's not something I can do while sitting in a tub of suds," she explained, adding, "in my mum's bathroom."

That seemed to get his attention and he quickly rose to his feet, running a hand through his hair. "Too right, that," he stammered. "How is Jackie, anyway? This is her room?" He glanced around and then over his shoulder, out into the bedroom.

Rose scanned the room for the nearest towel, noting that she'd left her dressing gown on the floor near the door. "Yeah, Mum's room." She looked up at him curiously. "How'd you get in here, anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm parked just outside." He waved behind him and took another step toward the door.

Rose pointed to an oversized towel and asked, "Could you hand me that?" He picked up the towel and handed it to her, and she motioned for him to turn around before standing, wrapping the towel around her, and stepping out of the tub. "In the front garden?"

The Doctor started to turn his head to acknowledge her but stopped himself short. "I'm sorry?"

Rose had reached her dressing gown and was slipping it over her shoulders, letting the towel fall away. "The TARDIS is in the front garden?" His back was still turned, so she tapped him on the shoulder. "I'm decent now."

He turned back to face her, less than an arm's length away, and she itched to wrap her arms around him, feel him crush her into one of his hugs. Instead, he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing to Jackie's bedroom, and smiled nervously. "No, I'm parked just outside this door."

Rose imagined her mum stepping foot into her bedroom to find the TARDIS blocking her way and couldn't help it. She laughed - a foreign sound to her ears as it had been far too long since something had struck her as truly, side-splittingly funny. It was a relief, too, to know that she hadn't been hearing things earlier.

"I fail to see the humour in this," the Doctor admonished. "I thought it was your room."

All her tension melted away and she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his solid, corporeal form. She rested her head against his chest, still giggling, and then sighed when he lifted his arms to envelop her. "I missed you," she admitted after a moment of silence. "More than you can know."

"Oh, I can know," he replied, his voice serious and deep, tightening his hold on her.

"Still," she replied. "You might want to move the TARDIS before Mum comes looking for me."

_(Con't)_


	2. Chapter 2

(Disclaimer, etc., found in Part One)

_Two_

Rose stood in the hallway outside of her bedroom door. After giving directions to the Doctor so he could properly park the TARDIS, she'd run downstairs, making up excuses on the way to get out of having a cup of tea with Jackie. Part of her was nervous that once she opened the door, she'd find the room empty. It was that part of her that had consciously decided to not tell Jackie anything about what had transpired in the bathroom. Fear of it all being in her head won out over her excitement and, she reasoned; it was better to keep the Doctor's arrival a secret for a while rather than be labelled a nutter when it turned out he wasn't really there.

She took a steadying breath and opened the door, preparing herself for the inevitable disappointment.

Her bedroom light was turned off but there was no missing it. Smack in the centre of her room stood the TARDIS - big, square, blue, and utterly beautiful. A sigh of relief escaped her and she fully entered her room, closing and locking the door behind her. She couldn't take her eyes off of the ship and found herself walking up to it and running a hand across the wood panelling. She could feel a slight hum and she closed her eyes, the memories rushing back of how that hum had lulled her to sleep at night.

"She's missed you."

Rose dropped her hand and turned. The Doctor was standing in front of her bedroom window, the glow from the full moon lighting him from behind. "Yeah? Well, if she missed me so much, it sure took her a helluva long time to come pick me up."

He didn't smile at her jibe. "How long has it been?" he whispered.

Rose leaned against the TARDIS and crossed her arms. "Four years," she whispered in return. "You?"

"One-and-a-half. Well, two-and-a-half..." One hand ran through his already mussed-up hair and then rested against the back of his neck. "Well, really only one-and-a-half but not for me . . . and Martha . . . and her family . . . and . . .," he paused and looked at her sheepishly. "What was the question?"

"What took you so long?" Rose asked, smiling, though she felt like crying.

"Well, there was that whole saving the human race from certain annihilation thing that I had to take care of. Other than that I was just sitting around waiting for you to muddle your way back to me. And, might I add, that it took _you_ long enough." At that, he broke and his effervescent grin seemed to light the room. He opened up his arms, reaching for her, and she crossed the room in three easy strides, allowing herself to be enveloped, once again, soundly in his embrace.

They stood, wrapped in each other, for several minutes. Rose simply breathed, pulling in the scent of him, committing it all to memory in case this was a temporary reunion. She wanted to capture every nuance in the event that it would have to hold her for the rest of her life. She rested her head against his chest and marvelled at the double beat of his hearts muffled through his layers of clothing, thinking that not even an hour prior, she had assumed that she'd never hear that gloriously alien sound again.

Her curiosity finally got the better of her, and she pulled back, slightly as it seemed from the grip he had on her that he wasn't planning on letting her go any time soon, "How did you do it?"

He shifted and looked down at her, meeting her eyes. "I didn't. It was all you."

"But, I didn't do anything," she protested, confused. "I tried - have been trying for years - but it all went flat."

At that, he took a step back, his hands resting on her forearms. "How about you tell me what you've been up to," he said, and he led her to the bed.

She sat down next to him, their hands clasped tightly, and she began. "Well, it's a long story, so I'm going to cut a bit out. I don't know how much time we have here and I don't want to waste it all when a summary will do." He smiled and squeezed her fingers, completely ignoring her point about wanting to know how long he'd be able to stay.

She sighed, knowing that he'd caught her hint and was keeping the answer to himself. As infuriating as that was, she chose not to push it and, instead, started on her side of the story. "'Course you remember when you regenerated; I'd absorbed the Time Vortex." After his nod, she continued. "You didn't tell me everything that happened," she accused, "and I didn't remember much of it on my own. Until about two years ago."

Rose shifted on the bed, turning to face him. He was watching her attentively and she found herself warming at the intensity of his gaze. "I started having dreams. It was like my memory was coming back to me in little bits and pieces. I went back to Bad Wolf Bay - two years to the day after we said goodbye - and that's when it all fell into place."

The Doctor shrugged, "What?"

"Bad Wolf Bay," Rose said it again. "When I was . . . possessed, I guess, by the Time Vortex, I told you I could see everything, remember? I don't actually remember what it was that I saw, that part is still murky, but I must have been able to see this possible timeline - I knew that we would become separated - so I made myself a path to find my way back to you. How else could that stretch of beach in Norway in a completely different, parallel universe, one that I didn't even know existed at the time, be named Bad Wolf Bay? And, what are the odds that we would end up there, conveniently meeting up again on that particular stretch of beach because that was the only remaining rip in the fabric between worlds? The odds are phenomenal! It had to be a clue. So, I went to work following my clues."

As Rose explained, the Doctor's eyes had grown wider and wider. "You're serious," he finally said, when she'd paused. "What if it had been just a wild coincidence?"

"That's what I had been thinking until you showed up in my mum's bathroom tonight," she admitted. "It had taken me two years of bouncing all over the world and beyond, following a trail of breadcrumbs, really, and thank goodness for Torchwood, too. It all led to the Eternals. But they said that they wouldn't help me. That was this afternoon."

"And, yet, here I am," the Doctor added, smiling broadly.

"But, I don't understand how." Rose shook her head and bit her lip as she replayed her meeting with the Eternals. "They were smug bastards, really. Seemed to take an interest in my problem but, at the end, told me that they were terribly sorry but they couldn't help."

The Doctor leaned forward and grasped her other hand, holding both of them on his lap. "What do you know about the Eternals?"

"Nothing, really," she admitted.

"You see, there was this boat race, in space," he paused. "But that's not really relevant to the here and now. You're right, though. They're smug bastards, very haughty, in my vastly educated opinion. However, there was one Eternal that you met today who is just a little different from the others. He was involved with that boat race and he recognised me in your memories, although how is still a mystery to me because that was several regenerations ago - back when I seemed to like wearing vegetables on my lapel."

Rose was trying to follow the Doctor's story but was having a hard time of it, so she just nodded for him to continue, making a note to ask him about the vegetables later.

"They can read minds; that's how they exist. Pick up everything up there," he tapped himself at the temple, "even me. They've been around for so long that they've run out of original ideas, so they read the minds of other creatures, they call them ephemerals, in order to entertain themselves. This particular Eternal took an interest in one of my companions at the time, Tegan - you'd have liked her; stubborn, no-nonsense, liked to bicker with me, too." He paused and smiled wistfully. "But what was I saying? Right, Tegan, this Eternal, called himself Marriner, pretty much followed her around the whole time like a lovesick puppy, which was funny, really, because the Eternals don't actually have a concept of love."

"In any case, he claimed that he felt bad for you, something about your sparkle being gone after they turned you down, so he convinced his elders to find me, instead, and allow me, trustworthy Time Lord that I am, the ability to cross the Void to come here to you. Only temporarily, though. It's more of a round-trip ticket, so once I leave, I can't come back."

He released her hands and, with one finger under her chin, closed her mouth. "You're gaping," he informed her. "Why are you gaping?"

Rose tried to wrap her mind around it. Most of what the Doctor had said had made no sense to her at all, and wasn't that just like him, but the essence of his story was that it had worked. Her idea, her plan, had really worked! She _had_ planted clues for herself - and it _had_ led her back to him - or, more exactly, him back to her. "I did it," she murmured.

"You did," he confirmed.

She looked at him, letting the moment wash over her. "I really, really did it!"

He nodded.

Unable to hold back any longer, she launched herself at him, wrapping him in a hug. Her momentum carried them over and she found herself lying on top of him, foreheads touching. "I really did it," she whispered.

"Yes, you did," he repeated, just as quietly.

"What do we do now?" she asked, still laying on him, nose-to-nose, his breath ticking her lips.

"We could go catch a film," he suggested, a twinkle of mirth in his eye.

"I have a better idea," she countered, and then she lowered her lips to his, meeting them tentatively, testing him.

She needn't have worried that he wouldn't respond. As soon as their lips met, his hold on her tightened, and she heard a groan rise from his throat. It was a chaste and tender kiss, though his grip on her would have caused her to think otherwise, so she upped the stakes and opened her lips slightly, hoping he would reciprocate.

His tongue snaked out and met with hers, the kiss deepening. She could hardly breathe through the emotions warring within her. His hands were on her back now, and she could feel them splayed open wide, holding her to him. She slid her hands up the back of head, running her fingers though his hair, playing out a fantasy she'd had since the infernal Cassandra had possessed her on New Earth. His hair felt heavenly in her fingers and she used her newfound grip to pull him even closer, refusing to give in for her need for oxygen.

Who needed to breathe, anyway, when there was a Time Lord in your bed?

Thoughts were tumbling about her head, most of them about how amazing his lips felt on hers, or how thorough and skilled he was with his tongue. Other thoughts tried to interrupt, though, and one of them kept niggling. Reluctantly, Rose pulled back, sucked in a much needed breath of air, and asked, "Who's Martha?"

The Doctor looked up at her through glassy eyes. "What?"

"I asked, 'who is Martha'?" Rose propped herself up on her elbows but made no move to slide off of the recumbent Doctor. She had him right where she wanted him and didn't plan on giving up the high ground any time soon.

"Are you serious?" He pulled his head back into her pillow as if trying to get a better look at her. "Really serious? You want to talk about this. Now?"

Rose shrugged and reached up to play with a lock of his hair that had flopped onto his forehead. "Seems as good a time as any, seeing as we're snogging on my bed, and I'm wearing nothing but a dressing gown. If there's another woman, I think I've got a right to know about her." Her tone was playful, and she hoped that it was a decent enough cover for her insecurity.

She had known since meeting Sarah Jane that the Doctor seldom travelled alone and that she certainly wasn't the first in what seemed to be a long line of travelling companions. She also wasn't fooling herself with the notion that after she'd left him he'd wallowed in self-pity, refusing to speak to anyone else, much less allow a new companion into his TARDIS. She'd spent nights thinking about it, honestly hoping that he'd found someone to keep him company.

The Doctor sighed and closed his eyes. "Martha travelled with me for a short time. She works for UNIT now. I called in a couple of favours to get her a good position. I owed her as much for what she went through. She saved my life." He opened his eyes and, quite seriously, said, "But, she didn't 'replace' you, Rose. No one could ever replace you. Yes, she travelled with me, and she kept me company, and she's a friend, but she's not you."

Rose quietly absorbed what he was saying, letting his words soothe her concerns. Then, with a quick peck on his lips, she admitted, "You're a pretty hard act to follow, too." And with that, she climbed off of him and walked toward her closet.

"What are you doing?"

She opened the door and pulled out a suitcase. "Packing," she answered over her shoulder.

"You're coming back with me?"

He sounded so small, the way he couldn't disguise the fact that he was truly worried that she'd want to stay. She set the case down and turned, hands on her hips. "Doctor, I told you years ago that I'd made my choice. I haven't changed my mind."

"You'd leave your family for me." It wasn't a question so much as him stating the fact out loud.

"I didn't spend the last four years of my life working to get back to you only to snog you senseless and then let you go. It doesn't work like that." Rose crossed back over to her bed and reached out for his hands, taking them firmly in her own. "That is, if you still want me to travel with you."

His eyebrows shot up at that and he practically squeaked, "What?" He was on his feet, in an instant. "Have I given you the impression that I don't want you to come back with me? Because, if I have, that wasn't my intention. I want you with me, Rose Tyler. I just don't want you to regret leaving Jackie and Pete and Mickey and, I suppose your little brother, too. I don't want you to resent me for taking you away from them."

Rose had been nodding her head throughout his babbling and finally reached out and placed her fingers on his lips, silencing him. "I made my choice, Doctor, four years ago. I haven't changed my mind," she repeated, firmly. "Besides, we've both made contact with the Eternals now and they have the ability to hop universes. Do you honestly think that, together, you 'n me, the stuff of legends and all that, that we can't convince them to help us out every so often so I can hop back over to check on things?"

He smiled under her fingers and she moved them so he could answer. "I didn't think of that."

"I know. How did you ever make it without me?" Rose grinned and thrilled when he grasped her face and pulled her into a kiss. She wondered as his lips played over hers, if that would ever start to feel ordinary. She figured that it wouldn't.

"It wasn't easy," he whispered against her lips.

"I need to get dressed," she whispered back. "We're going to have to talk to Mum and Pete."

The Doctor sighed. "I don't suppose I could convince you to just hop in the TARDIS and leave a note for Jackie on your pillow?" Rose frowned at him and he shrugged. "It was worth a try."

Rose grabbed some clothes from a hamper at the foot of her bed and stepped into her bathroom, "I don't know what you're so worried about. Mum hasn't smacked you in ages. In fact, if I remember right, and I'm sure I do, she planted a few wet ones on you the last time you brought me home." She emerged, hastily though fully dressed, to find him with a look of abject horror on his face.

"I'd rather she was smacking me," he said, gravely, and shuddered.

Rose smiled and reached for his hand, pulling him after her as she unlocked her bedroom door and stepped into the hallway. She shared a smile with the Doctor before calling down the stairs, "Mum! Look what I found!"

_end_


End file.
